History
New Zealand’s Participation in GBIF is supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The national GBIF node is hosted by Landcare Research, supported by in-kind contribution.
Mission
Landcare Research’s purpose is to drive innovation in New Zealand’s management of terrestrial biodiversity and land resources in order to both protect and enhance the terrestrial environment and grow New Zealand’s prosperity.
New Zealand Biodiversity Recording Network (NaturewatchNZ) aims to increase knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of New Zealand’s natural history; engage and assist New Zealanders in observing and recording biological information; develop and support online tools to assist individuals and groups to record; view, share and use biological information; collaborate with people and groups interested in bio-recording; and promote and provide secure, open, and ethical sources of biological information for the public.
Structure
New Zealand based GBIF data providers are hosted by Landcare Research and the New Zealand Biodiversity Recording Network (NaturewatchNZ).Terrestrial biodiversity collection and observation data are provided by Landcare Research for some Nationally Significant Collections and Databases. These include key national collections (dried and living) of plants, fungi and bacteria. NaturewatchNZ is a citizen science platform for capturing observations and images across all organism groups. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research provide marine data through the South-West Pacific OBIS Node. Lastly a proportion of New Zealand bird observation data is mobilised through eBird.
New Zealand provides a continuously updated national species checklist mobilised through the New Zealand Organisms Register (NZOR) project, currently hosted by Landcare Research. NZOR data content is provided by multiple agencies.
Funding
The national GBIF node is supported by in-kind contribution.
The basic financial contribution to GBIF is made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
